PLAINFIELD CARDINALS (23-7, 13-3 & T-1st Watchung Conference)
The relative success (or lack thereof) for Plainfield this season really depends on which set of standards to which they’re held. For a high school team trying to deal with the weight of expectation while adjusting to a new coach and a new system, the Cardinals had an exceptional season, knocking off perennial powers Paterson Catholic, St. Peter’s Prep and St. Anthony on the way to finally getting over the hump and winning a sectional title.
But then there’s the other school of thought, which saw the Cardinals — a team with more talent than any in the area — still as underachievers, who got shellacked by a New York prep school in a star-packed holiday tournament, who stumbled badly in the Union County Tournament against Elizabeth, and who dropped a game they could have won in the Group IV semifinals against Paterson Eastside.
Ultimately, the truth probably falls somewhere in between. This wasn’t a perfect team, which had to work through defensive lapses and was hot-and-cold with its front court. They played a handful of local heavyweights, winning some and losing some. The probably shouldn’t have been swept by conference rival Shabazz, but the Bulldogs won their own section, and the Cards were 13-1 against their other seven Watchung foes. That’s no small feat.
It might take another year or two for new head coach Jeff Lubreski to put his stamp on the program, if he gets that much time, but for his first go-around, this wasn’t too shabby.

SCOTCH PLAINS-FANWOOD RAIDERS (15-14, 6-7 T-6th Watchung Conference)Before the season started, rookie head coach Ben Martinez probably seemed lucky; after all, his job would likely be made much easier by the six seniors he had returning, including five with experience from the 2008 team that won Group III. But that luck dried up quickly, as the Raiders lost four-of-five to start the season, including three games by a combined seven points.
But things began to turn around with a three-point win over eventual conference co-champ Elizabeth, which sparked a run of seven wins in nine games, getting Scotch Plains back to 8-6. A three-game slide relegated them to the .500 range for the rest of the season, but they were able to sneak into the state tournament and nearly defended their North 2 title before fading in the fourth quarter against Shabazz. Next year will be trickier without those six seniors, but after navigating his way through this season, Martinez has to feel good about his chances.

WESTFIELD BLUE DEVILS (10-13)
The Blue Devils 35-point loss to Elizabeth in the Union County Tournament was anything but pretty, but at least they finished strong. That was Westfield’s only loss in its last four games, and even though only one of those wins came against a state tournament team (Hillsborough), it has to feel good to finish on an upswing.
The biggest win came Jan. 26 against rival Scotch Plains-Fanwood. Not only was that Westfield’s only conference game outside of winless Kearny, but it avenged a loss six days early in Scotch Plains. And at the end of the day, 10 wins was a slight improvement from 8-17 the year before, so head coach Kevin Everly can’t feel too bad, even in a losing season.

GOVERNOR LIVINGSTON HIGHLANDERS (16-10, 6-8 & 5th Mountain Valley Conference/Mountain Division)
As balanced a team as there was in the area, the Highlanders had a rotating cast of leading scorers, albeit a carousel of results, as well. Things started off well, with a nine-point upset of Rahway, and head coach Steve Petruzzelli’s team stayed in contention for the division through most of the season before fading a bit down the stretch with losses to Cranford and Union Catholic. The only real head scratcher was a two-point defeat at the hands of Roselle Catholic, which snapped a five-game winning streak.
At one point, the Highlanders were 9-3, and despite going .500 the rest of the way, they bumped their win total from 10 last year to 16 this year. They gave league bigwigs Roselle, Rahway and St. Mary’s good games for the second year in a row, and found a couple of solid starters for next season in Rob Ingebretsen and Max Machado. Ultimately, the program seems to be in solid shape heading into Petruzzelli’s third decade in Berkeley Heights.

NEW PROVIDENCE PIONEERS (15-10, 11-3 T-1st MVC/Valley Division)
Say what you will about the Pioneers backing into a division title in the weaker half of the weaker league spanning Union and Essex counties. The bottom line is that behind 6-foot-6 sophomore Jack Cole, head coach Art Cattano fielded a solid, solid team this year, and a division title is still a division title. Things were looking bleak after a second loss to then-leader Technology on Feb. 5, which left New Prov two games back in the loss column with one game to play. The Panthers had three left, but with lowly Dayton on the schedule, along with Brearley and Newark Central (both of whom Tech had already beaten), it seemed a foregone conclusion they’d hold on.
But first, the Panthers fell to Brearely by a point; the next night, New Providence beat the Bears themselves, while Dayton sprung the big upset on Technology to somehow clinch at least a share of the title for the Pioneers. Tech eventually beat Central, keeping them from winning the division outright, but the improbable co-championship was in the books. Unfortunately, New Providence’s season came to an end in Newark against the rival Panthers in the North 2 Group I semifinals, but with two more years of Cole, the Pioneers will have plenty of time to get over that hump.

UNION CATHOLIC VIKINGS (9-17)
This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for Jim Reagan, who started three sophomores, and after a pair of nailbiting wins over Dunellen and Hillside to start the season, reality set in pretty quickly with six losses in seven games. Still, the Vikings are only losing a couple seniors and their core players will be back next year. Late season wins over Governor Livingston and Brearley are probably a sign of good things to come, though the Vikes ended the season with a couple of duds, falling to Somerville and Rahway by 44 combined points. This is the second straight year of nine wins, so UC will be gunning to reach double digits with this group next winter.

About Mike New

Mike New is former writer at the Home News Tribune, having covered Middlesex County softball in 2009 and 2010. A 2008 graduate of Rutgers University, he served as sports editor and managing editor of The Daily Targum. Now an assistant in the publishing world, he has returned to In the Paint and will be a weekly contributor on Sundays.

About this Blog

The inside story on Central Jersey high school boys basketball

About the Author

Joe MartinoJoe Martino has covered Central Jersey news and sports for the Courier News and Home News Tribune since 2009. Currently, he’s an innovative member of the MyCentralJersey.com online news team. He’s lived in Bridgewater his entire life and is a graduate of Ramapo College.E-mail Joe

Mike BeckerMike Becker is a graduate of Rutgers University. He has been working at the Home News Tribune since the spring of 2011. During his time at Rutgers, he covered the school's football, and both the men's and women's basketball teams, for WRSU-FM.E-mail Mike